


What A Fool You Call Home

by Nuanta



Series: a/b/o fantasy verse [3]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Drunken Shenanigans, Established Relationship, M/M, Nobility, Political Alliances, Power Imbalance, can be read as a standalone (though the background will be a bit lacking), drunken dirty talk, established bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-12-10 23:09:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11701809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nuanta/pseuds/Nuanta
Summary: Tyler is going to kill Jason Demers.Like, actual, straight-up murder. He will. It’s gonna happen.It’s not like Tyler had any way of knowing this would happen. Daddy hadn’t even thought to grace him with advance notice.How in the world was Tyler supposed to prepare himself for House Delph’s sabotage attempts otherwise? How else could he have ever hoped to avoid having a lapful of completely inebriated Jamie, heavy and insistently latched onto him?





	What A Fool You Call Home

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't want to lump this in with the fic I add the little drabbles to because I felt like it deserved to stand on its own? I don't know, I'm weird that way. Anyways, this should more or less stand on its own - it's literally just a ball of fluff and silliness. 
> 
> Also, it's for Ash, posted on tumblr as a birthday gift and finally getting posted here after me being lazy for three months. 
> 
> Title taken from Fool You Call Home by Mumford & Sons.

 

~o~

Tyler is going to _kill_ Jason Demers.

Like, actual, straight-up murder. He will. It’s gonna happen.

It’s not like Tyler had any way of knowing this would happen. Daddy hadn’t even thought to grace him with advance notice.

How in the world was Tyler supposed to prepare himself for House Delph’s sabotage attempts otherwise? How else could he have ever hoped to avoid having a lapful of completely inebriated Jamie, heavy and insistently latched onto him?

To be fair, House Delph hadn’t been nearly as subtle as they would’ve liked, and it only took Tyler as long as it did for him to work it out because it’s literally their second formal affair since Jamie’d earned his lordship, and it’s been years since Tyler’s done this shit and he is _so_ out of practice with political games.

If Tyler wasn’t preoccupied with the drunken idiot draped over him, he’d definitely feel sorry for Jordie, the poor sap, who’s experiencing all of this for the first time and who clearly hasn’t the slightest clue how to handle all this. His face betrays so many emotions at once, Tyler thinks it might be broken – frustration, amusement, mortification, everything. He and Tyler might as well be a matching set.

And Daddy had purposely withheld information about this particular plot from them because he _knew_.

 

~o~

_[Two Weeks Earlier]_

 

“House Delph?” Tyler asks, crinkling his nose.

Jamie hums in affirmation, waving the letter in front of Tyler’s face. Tyler’s too lazy to get up from where he’s snugged against Jamie’s side, so he just flicks his wrist to shove it aside.

“What’s it say?” he asks instead.

They’ve got a pretty sweet system. After dinner, once all important matters regarding the goings-on of the Star are taken care of, they retreat to the study, where Tyler gets to cuddle with his favorite person and Jamie gets the incredibly dull task of reading letters. So, okay, it’s basically a system set up to favor Tyler only, but whatever, Jamie doesn’t actually mind. He only pretends to when he’s trying to guilt Tyler into something, and even then it’s so easy to call his bluff that they usually end up laughing it off together anyways.

“The same thing as any other invitation,” Jamie sighs. “Presence requested for a dinner and a discussion of trade, the usual.”

Tyler considers for a moment. “We’ve got resources they’d love to get their hands on,” he muses.

He feels Jamie nod, chin brushing against Tyler’s hair. “We could use that to our advantage.”

Tyler tilts his head to look Jamie in the eye, a grin spreading across his cheeks. “My lord,” he simpers. “Did I just catch you thinking like a true nobleman?”

Jamie flusters instantly, cheeks going bright red. “It’s just strategy,” he mumbles, burying his face in Tyler’s hair. Tyler laughs, reaching back uncoordinatedly to ruffle Jamie’s.

“So we’re going, then,” Tyler says. It’s not exactly a question – he pretty much knows exactly what Jamie’s thinking at this point – but it never hurts to be sure.

“I think so,” Jamie answers. “I’ll request an intelligence report in the morning, and then we’ll send out our confirmation.”

There’s just the slightest whiff of something _off_ in the air. “What’s wrong?” Tyler asks. His instincts are telling him it’s nerves. Their bond has been useful in figuring that shit out, the more time they’ve spent together.

Jamie sighs, long and drawn out. “I just don’t want to screw this up for us,” he admits. “It’s all so foreign to me.”

“And I’ve been out of the court for thirteen years,” Tyler says. “So what? It’ll be fine. You were a fucking champion on our visit to House Montcon.”

Jamie’s quiet for a moment. “It’s Lord Gerard, right? We met him at House Montcon’s estate.”

Tyler nods. “They’re not far off from each other,” he agrees, “and they’ve got a well-established connection.” Sometimes he can’t believe how much he had to learn, how much he _has_ learned, in such a short amount of time since taking ownership of the Star with Jamie. “We’ll probably be seeing a lot of them together.”

“So offend one, and we ruin our prospects with the other, is that it?”

Tyler almost laughs. “Nah,” he says. “In the end, everyone’s out for themselves. Most of ’em are only nice on the surface. They’d secretly love it if we fucked with their so-called trade buddies.”

Jamie groans, his distaste blatant. “What a way to live,” he mutters.

“We don’t have to be like that,” Tyler reminds him. “We’re already a thorn in the system’s side as it is. How much do you wanna bet Lord Gerard secretly thinks I’m a worthless omega who deserves to be put back in chains?”

Jamie’s scent shifts towards wounded so fast, Tyler thinks he might have strained something. “Whoa, stop it,” Tyler says immediately. He sits up this time, twists to face Jamie head-on, eyes locked on one another. Jamie’s are big and brown as ever, and forever concerned. “I literally do not give a rat’s ass what that man – or anyone else, for that matter – thinks,” he states firmly. “You know that. We’re just gonna keep doing our thing, and piss as many people off as we can in the process.” He gives Jamie a friendly slap on the shoulder. “It’ll be fun.”

Jamie shakes his head, but the corners of his mouth are ticking upwards, so points to Tyler once more. “You’re such a little shit,” he chuckles softly.

Tyler beams at him. “It’s why you love me.”

Jamie, the fucker, pretends to think about it for a moment. “I don’t know, I think I like you better when you –”

Tyler doesn’t let him finish, covers Jamie’s mouth with both hands, laughing. Happiness bubbles through their bond, and they giggle helplessly as they faux-struggle with one another, and there’s no question what’ll follow later. Later, once they’ve settled in their room for the night – that’s _their_ space, their place to do all the things the world is still reluctant to accept.

It’s wishful thinking, sure, but one day, they’ll make them all see.

 

~o~

_[Four Days Earlier]_

 

Tyler still fucking hates gryphons.

Okay, that’s harsh. The gryphons themselves are fantastic; they’re incredibly gentle once tamed, and they don’t mind being pet, so they’re a good substitute when Marshall’s not around. It’s just that he can’t get used to the feeling of flying on them.

All this to say, Tyler really can’t be blamed for his grumpy brattiness the morning they’re set to take off for House Delph. Daddy and Jordie laugh at him, but at least Jamie looks somewhat sympathetic.

“Why are you even coming with us, anyways?” Tyler complains as they’re getting their packs ready, following a particularly nasty jab from Jordie. “Jamie, why aren’t we leaving him to look after the Star while we’re gone?”

Jamie rolls his eyes. “As if you don’t agree Patrice is perfect for the job.” Tyler does agree, but he’s not saying that out loud, not in front of Jordie. “Besides, with Fiddler and Goose in charge of the guard, the Star’s in the best possible hands.”

“Hold up, little brother,” Jordie says, eyebrows narrowing dangerously. “Are you saying I wouldn’t be as well-suited to looking after the Star in your absence?”

“That’s exactly what he’s saying,” Tyler chimes in before Jamie can speak, throwing an arm around Jordie’s shoulders. “Guess neither of us can get what we want, eh?”

Jordie shrugs him off easily, so Tyler pushes back, and then he loses track of everything else for a bit while they wrestle. Unlike Jamie, though, Jordie doesn’t go easy, and by some fiendish form of magic, Tyler always seems to end up in a headlock no matter what they do.

When Tyler finally sighs and taps out, Daddy is watching them gleefully while Jamie’s got his back turned, making the last of the adjustments to the loads their gryphons are carrying. Once he’s finished, he turns back to face them, relief clearly washing over his face at the sight of them standing tall and apart.

“All set to go,” Jamie says. He turns to Daddy. “Are you going to split off from the rest of us when we arrive?”

“Nah,” comes the carefree answer. “I won’t need to.”

Tyler appreciates the man’s lazy sort of confidence. They’ve got a system set up now, one that functions as a warning when in new territory. If Daddy’s planning on sticking with them through all of this, then that means he’s absolutely certain there will be no risks or dangers during their stay at Delph Manor. It’s good to know.

And it sure does wonders for Jamie’s nerves; the smell he’s exuding is obvious.

“All right then, let’s get the worst part over with,” Tyler gripes, and he begrudgingly swings a leg over to mount.

 

~o~

_[Five Hours Earlier]_

 

Delph Manor looks very much like the Seguin estate of years ago, assuming there haven’t been any major renovations since Tyler last called that place home. Its defining feature is easily the large and carefully tended garden, in bloom with colorful flowers Tyler couldn’t name even if he tried. The area is perfectly symmetrical, with walking paths weaving in and out of the sides, the main road leading directly to the main gate of the manor.

“You’ve come during the perfect season,” Ser Jacob, the alpha Knight-Captain of Lord Gerard’s guard, is saying as he leads them down the main trail, indicating with a sweeping motion of his arm the sculpted bushes behind him, meticulously shaped to depict some grand lord of combat, sword held victoriously in the air, or something like that. “All the flowers are in bloom, and the trees have borne fresh fruit, ripe for tonight’s feast.”

Tyler glances at Jamie, who is wearing a mask of interest, nodding along emphatically while Tyler gets hints of unrest from their bond. Jamie’s scent is carefully neutral; no doubt he’s keeping himself in check, conscientious of how well he’ll need to hide his smells from the other nobles they meet here.

But that’s why their bond is so useful, after all. They can communicate their emotions through it even while masking their scents, a private and advantageous connection in these situations. And also, it lets Tyler truly understand how freaking good Jamie is at what he does.

(He’s wondered a million and one times by now what kind of emotions Jamie’d been hiding from him back at Nassa Tower. Then again, he sort of does now. But part of Tyler yearns to have been able to go back in time and experience it through a bond, just to see, just to know.)

Glancing over his shoulder instead, Tyler notices Jordie grimacing while Daddy is positively beaming. Still with them, after all, and having a grand old time while he’s at it, clearly. Tyler kind of wishes there was an inconspicuous way of pointing that out to Jamie, but he knows better than to try that shit in front of another Knight-Captain.

When they arrive at the gates, a butler is there waiting to escort Jordie and Daddy to their rooms. Their personal effects had already been taken care of when they’d landed, stable hands rushing to take care of their things as well as their gryphons, and Ser Jacob had taken over showing them the outer estate. Once inside, however, Tyler knew the plan would change. Now, he and Jamie will meet with Lord Gerard alone for a personal tour before the evening’s dinner. Tyler would much rather the opportunity to explore the place on his own, but fat chance of that happening.

So they part ways and Ser Jacob leads Jamie and Tyler to Lord Gerard’s study. Tyler grimaces behind the knight’s back. Time for a gross afternoon of meetings.

 

~o~ 

_[Two and a Half Hours Earlier]_

 

The wine is quite nice, Tyler has to admit; he’s still not really used to such frivolities. They don’t keep much at the Star, and they certainly don’t keep secret stashes of it for entertaining the most revered of guests only. Whenever they had, Jamie would insist on sharing with the people. Because he’s the best.

Jamie’s already finishing off his third glass, and Tyler’s only just started on his second. That’s a little weird.

“You in a mood?” he asks, nudging their knees together under the table. They’re surrounded by other nobles, after all, filling the dining hall with chatter and music, so he’s gotta try to be at least somewhat subtle about it.

Jamie frowns, uncomprehending. “No?”

“Just unwinding from the meetings, then?”

Jamie relaxes at that. “Yeah. Yeah, they were.” He leaves it at that, and Tyler knows exactly what he means. He supposes it’s all right for Jamie to have a good few drinks, for now.

Then he takes his glass in hand again – wait, did he refill it _again_? – and holds it slightly towards Tyler. Tyler shakes himself over, wordlessly clanks his glass against Jamie’s, and they sip.

~o~

Okay, something is definitely not right. Every time Tyler looks away, he turns back to see Jamie’s glass full again. And the thing is, he’s like, trying to keep an eye on it when he can, but there’s always some other noble trying to engage him in conversation.

The worst part is, Jamie doesn’t even realize. But every time Tyler tries to say something like, “Hey, maybe you might want to slow down there?” Jamie either waves him off, clearly not realizing exactly how much he’s had so far, or Tyler gets interrupted and pulled into some other conversation, away from the table.

Shit. He’s had to be so overwhelmingly social with literally everyone, he has no clue who’s behind this.

Wait. Is it everyone?

“Please excuse me,” he murmurs to Lady Catherine, who politely smiles and curtsies as he turns his back. He only feels like a bit of a jerk for doing that, but there’s some other woman at Jamie’s side and he can smell the intent on her from miles away.

“Tyler!” Jamie exclaims jovially as he approaches, and shit, his cheeks are pink and his eyes are starting to lose their usual determined focus. “I was just telling Lady Joanne about you.”

Tyler laughs a little distressingly. “Were you now?” Damn it. He needs to get Daddy and Jordie’s help on this, have someone watching Jamie’s drink at all times.

“Yeah,” Jamie nods fervently. “I was telling her, I don’t know why she’d want to waste time talking to me, not when you’re the charmer around here.”

Oh dear gods, bless and curse this idiot at once, honestly. Tyler wants to be flattered but he’s just a little queasy instead.

Then, from across the table, Tyler catches wind of Daddy’s voice: “I really don’t know why anyone in their right mind would attempt to seduce my Lord Jamie with drink and women,” he’s saying gaily to another noble. “Makes whoever tries look rather foolish, wouldn’t you agree?”

He catches Tyler’s eye, as if he knew exactly how to find him – and he winks.

The fucker winks.

Tyler sees stars. 

 

~o~

_[Now]_

 

In short, Daddy totally knew the full extent of how this plan would backfire spectacularly, made sure to say just the right things so that everyone would know of House Delph’s failure, and spare Tyler the embarrassment of having to save face.

Which, of course, does absolutely nothing for the flaming arousal in Tyler’s gut, thanks to Jamie running his filthy mouth into the crook of Tyler’s neck at all moments.

Also, Jamie’s putting off a hell of a scent, and Tyler knows he’s that much more attuned to it ever since they bonded but he’s so sure everyone can smell it just as well. Normally it’s the best scent in the world, all spicy-sweet and warm and spine-tinglingly good – so naturally, it’s literally killing him right now, cause it’s all he can do to keep himself from pressing his nose against Jamie’s neck and inhaling as much of him as he can in front of everybody.

Yeah, no. Some things are for behind closed doors only.

“But Tyler,” Jamie whines when Tyler gently takes him by the hair and pulls Jamie’s face off of him, shivering a little as the air hits his neck.

“No, Jamie,” Tyler says sternly, or tries to. “Not now.”

“But you smell so good,” Jamie says earnestly, lips full and dark and wet from the wine, eyes glassy and wide, flushed from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. There’s a certain thrill in being able to appreciate how good Jamie looks like this, but again, no. “Let me kiss you.”

“We’re still at dinner,” Tyler reminds him – reminds himself as well, if he’s being honest here. He probably wants just as much as Jamie; the only difference is he can still think straight. And if he wants the trade talks to go well tomorrow, for their sakes as well as the entire Star’s, well, he’s gotta do this right.

Ugh, he fucking hates being responsible.

Jamie sways and lists forward, and this time Tyler sighs and lets him, lets Jamie bury his face in the juncture of Tyler’s neck and shoulder, heavy and broad and radiating heat.

“I want you so bad,” Jamie mumbles, lips working against Tyler’s neck. “I just want you all the time.”

Tyler’s gut flips. “I know,” he soothes, patting Jamie’s hair. It’s sweaty and mussed and floppy in all directions, and Tyler loves it, loves every stupid part of this idiot man. “When we get back to our room. Wait till then.”

“Wanna spread you on the bed and kiss you all over,” Jamie slurs, teeth grazing the skin now, just enough to tickle, and shit, this is bad. “Wanna feel you inside me, wanna make you feel so good –” and fuck, _fuck_ , Tyler shivers all over.

“Later,” Tyler grits out, desperately clinging to his resolve and his sanity.

“Looks like the wine’s done a number on this one,” a voice says cheerfully from behind them, and Tyler turns and inwardly sighs in relief when he sees it’s Lord Bryce of House Montcon. They’d just established an alliance at their last social gathering, and all of Daddy’s reports have come back clear so far. This is a man Tyler can trust to have his back, here.

Tyler chuckles politely, tipping his head in acknowledgement. “I’m afraid so,” he agrees. “He’s got a tough mind, but even he has his limits.” Eesh, that sounded terrible. Tyler’s still not back into the practice of all this flowery lingo.

Lord Bryce nods knowingly. “Well, he certainly can’t be expected to fare any better when his very host slights him so,” he comments, just loud enough for those still around them to hear. “A cruel trick for someone who is merely graciously accepting one’s hospitality.”

Tyler’s grateful to have Lord Bryce joining in on Daddy’s efforts to spread the word. By now, there’s no way anyone doesn’t know of what transpired. It’ll shift the trade talks tomorrow in their favor for sure, as long as Tyler can keep Jamie from doing something stupid.

“I am thinking my lady and I will retire for the night,” Lord Bryce continues. He motions at Jamie, collapsed against Tyler’s side, with a slight inclination of his chin. “Perhaps you should do the same.”

“Certainly that would be best at this time,” Tyler says, relief flooding through him. “Have you spoken to Lord Gerard recently?”

Lord Bryce nods. “I’ve already informed him,” he says. “You can just return to your quarters for the night. Would you like some assistance?”

“Oh, no thank you,” Tyler replies. “I’ve got it under control.”

“I bid you good night, then,” Lord Bryce says with a smile.

“And you as well,” Tyler says, and then he’s left alone.

He waits a beat, steels himself, and says, “Okay, Jamie, let’s go back to our room.”

“But I want,” Jamie starts, and Tyler cuts him off.

“Soon,” he promises. He sucks in a breath and exhales hard, pushing to his feet and bearing Jamie’s weight with him. Tyler’s strong, sure, but Jamie’s still bigger, still stronger, and always will be, even if the only time he shows it is precisely when Tyler absolutely wishes otherwise, like right now. Ugh, he’s heavy.  

“I want you here.” Jamie’s words are muffled and petulant. “Now.”

Tyler receives no warning before Jamie’s arm has slipped around his waist, hand traveling downwards, flitting under his shirt across the bare skin just above his trousers –

“Fuck, Jamie, not yet,” Tyler gasps, twisting away so that Jamie can’t get at his crotch while they’re _leaving the fucking dining hall_. But just that simple touch, the feel of having Jamie so close, it’s sending punches of arousal to his gut and he can’t, they can’t yet, they have to wait.

Heart pounding furiously, he leads them away from the table, shrugging and smiling sheepishly at any other noble who looks his way. He knows they can smell Jamie’s desire; Jamie can’t hide his scents while he’s an inebriated fool. Tyler can’t really discern the reactions he’s getting from these alphas and betas, for they are certainly hiding them from his nose as well. So he steels himself and ignores them and hopes that Daddy was right and all of this will work out in their favor in the end.

Once they’re in the torchlit hallway that leads to their quarters, it’s like a breath of fresh air. There’s no one else around; soon they’ll be in their room and Tyler can have Jamie the way he’s been dying to all night. His body is lighting up in anticipation; they’re almost there.

“When we get back,” Jamie starts, trailing off.

“Hmm?” Tyler glances over where Jamie’s head is still tipped onto his shoulder, but Jamie’s not looking at him. “We can do whatever you want. We’re almost there.”

“We’ll need to fix that leak in the roof,” Jamie continues, and _what_.

“There’s nothing wrong with the roof here,” Tyler says, frowning. Seriously. Their room is fine. It’s not even raining outside anyways, even if there was an issue.

“No,” Jamie slurs, “at the Star.”

Tyler almost stops walking, but they’re so close to their quarters and he just wants to get Jamie naked and in bed with him and why on earth is Jamie talking about stuff back home?

Jamie straightens a little, eyes bright and unfocused. “It’s just a small crack, but that can get worse over time, you know? So that’s why we have to fix it sooner than later, to keep it from getting worse, before we get another rainstorm.”

Tyler grits his teeth, missing the warmth of Jamie’s body draped over his already, damn it. “Jamie, is that really what you want to focus on right now? We’re almost at our room.”

“Yeah,” Jamie answers with an earnest nod. “And when we get back, we should talk to Patrice and see if he found anything else while we were gone…”

The idiot just keeps on going, and Tyler cannot believe this is his life right now.

Jamie’s still talking about gods-knows-what when Tyler finally, finally opens the door to their room. He shoves Jamie inside, locks the door behind him, and screw whatever Jamie’s got on his mind right now, because he made Tyler want him so bad and fuck, Tyler’s gonna have him.

He cuts Jamie off mid-sentence and kisses him hard, gripping Jamie’s biceps and pushing him back until the backs of Jamie’s knees hit the bed and they topple onto the straw mattress. Jamie kisses back uncoordinated and sloppy, but he does, thank fuck, moaning when Tyler grinds down on top of him.

“You’re such an idiot,” Tyler breathes, breaking apart when it would otherwise be too much of a struggle to get them both out of their clothes because Jamie is too far gone to be of any use. “Such a tease, you dumbass.”

He’s barely gotten them out of their shirts when Jamie yawns hugely, his eyes slipping shut. Falling asleep with Tyler straddling his hips, getting them naked so that they could have the sex Jamie’d been ranting about back in the dining hall. Because he’s drunk.

Tyler muffles a scream of frustration into his fist, cause damn it all, there is no way he’s having Jamie like this tonight. He claws his nails down his face as he stares at the ceiling, willing his raging hormones to calm down so his dick can stop throbbing. He breathes in, holds. Exhales hard. Okay. This is how it’s gonna be.

He stands and stares at Jamie, already fast asleep. Breathes again. Jamie probably doesn’t need much to sleep the rest of the night away, but he’d still hate to sleep in his good clothes. Tyler gets to work on his pants, removing the rest of his fancy meeting-other-nobles garments, and lays them aside on their spare bed. He draws the blankets over Jamie, nudges and adjusts him this way and that so that he’ll be more comfortable.

Tyler lets out another exasperated sigh, then takes the rest of his clothes off as well. He climbs into bed behind Jamie and doesn’t sidle up to him like he usually does, because if he touches Jamie again he might not be able to stop. He’s still hard, still wants, but he can’t – not with Jamie like this.

“You owe me big time,” Tyler tells him, even though he knows Jamie won’t hear. Saying it out loud doesn’t exactly help him feel better, but it’ll do.

He doesn’t fall asleep for a long time, aching for Jamie’s touch, but eventually that subsides and he’s able to find some peace. It doesn’t last long at all, maybe a few hours at most, because the next thing he knows the sunlight is creeping in from behind the curtains and Jamie’s yawning and stretching beside him.

“Eugh,” Jamie mumbles, turning his head into the pillow. “Hurts.”

“What’s that?” Tyler asks, rubbing his eyes and also trying to sink deeper into the bed. This morning is gonna suck.

“Too bright,” Jamie says over a yawn. “My head. My mouth feels like I’ve eaten manure.”

“Why would you even know what manure tastes like,” Tyler grumbles back.

“I don’t,” Jamie replies. “But I imagine it’d be like this.” He twists around, lying flat on his stomach, until his head is tilted to face Tyler. “My throat’s so dry.”

“Wonder why,” Tyler mutters.

“Why what?”

Tyler rolls onto his side to face Jamie. “Do you remember dinner last night?”

Jamie frowns, trying to think. “I remember the start? There were a lot of people talking to me. I tried to get some of them to talk to you instead? Sorry about that.”

Tyler just – he heaves the biggest sigh in the world. “Gods, you’re an idiot,” he says, and decides to go for it. “Lord Gerard’s people snuck you so much to drink you turned into a bumbling mess.”

Jamie’s eyes go wide. “No,” he gasps, mortified. “Oh, gods, what did I do?”

Tyler shrugs, acting as nonchalant as possible. “Oh, just wouldn’t stop talking about how great I was whenever a lady tried to seduce you.” He almost snickers when Jamie’s face goes bright red before disappearing against the pillow, but he’s trying to be at least a little nice. “And, you know, kept trying to get your hands and mouth on me in public.”

Jamie groans, long and heartfelt. “Please tell me you didn’t let me make a fool of myself. Please don’t tell me I ruined all our prospects.”

Tyler laughs, but like, not too meanly. “I mean, you definitely are a fool, but everyone knew what the play was by the end of the night. Lord Gerard’s the one who’s embarrassed as fuck now.” He can’t stop himself from adding, “and I was going to let you have me like you wanted when we got to bed, but you decided to fall asleep instead.”

“Shit.” Jamie muffles another despairing sound into the pillow. “I am so sorry.”

“Yeah,” Tyler agrees. “But now you owe me, so. It’s fine.”

“I can’t like this,” Jamie moans, desolate. “And now I have to face that man, ugh.”

Tyler pokes Jamie’s calf with his toes, causing him to squirm. “Okay, first of all, I’m gonna need you to pull yourself together a little, cause we can use this as leverage over Lord Gerard. Attempted sabotage and all that. You’re good at bargaining. It’s your time to shine.”

Jamie sighs. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“And second of all,” Tyler continues, “you can make it up to me back at the Star, how about that?”

Jamie reaches, strokes a hand down Tyler’s cheek. He still looks kind of miserable, but the corner of his mouth is upturned just a smidge. His touch is warm, and Tyler leans into it.

Jamie may be a fool, but he’s still the best thing in Tyler’s life – the best thing he’s ever had. Their day will be filled with more shitty meetings, sure, especially with Jamie nursing his headache and being forced to put on a tough front to get the edge they need. But then they’ll get to go home, and Tyler doesn’t actually need to request payback because it’s a sure thing anyways. Best of all, Jamie will remain at his side throughout it all, annoying political meetings, on the journey back home, and longer. That’s what makes it all worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed it! Gonna try to write more regularly now that I'm done teaching summer school - please come talk to me on tumblr (nuanta-fic) if you have ideas for me, or just to chat!


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